I like Beijing a lot. I really do. It's a city that still holds many secrets for me to uncover even after over a year's worth of living here. One of the most interesting of these legendary mysteries of the East, for most people at least, is the way Chinese people behave and interact publicly. Most are quite familiar with the Japanese who bow, present themselves in such a formal way it boarderlines to the extreme and tend to apologise deeply even for the slightest of errors.When it comes to the Chinese, though, you're dealing with the exact opposite, and this is where most of my gripes are derived from. I find the Chinese to have an extreme lack of courtesy. Now I don't mean this statement as a comparison to the Japanese. I haven't been to Japan yet, sadly, so I can only use my possibly misguided and ill-informed idea I have of the way they behave. I also do not believe that people should be so courteous and considerate, they have to apologise by bowing 100 times in a row yelling "I am so so sorry for bumping into you". But I do believe the line needs to be drawn somewhere and quite frankly I feel that the average Beijinger has yet to do so.
After the jump I will take you for a ride into what I consider the blacker side of Beijing and its society. Bare in mind I am expressing my own opinion here. I've heard the line "Oh but this is Chinese culture" or just simply "This is China" one too many times and I still do not agree with it. My girlfriend, born and bred in Beijing, has never shown any signs of such lack of consideration for the people surrounding her. Nor have the rest of the locals I interact with almost every day. So, yes, expect a good amount of ranting and opinionated statements this time.
Enter at your own risk!
